The North American T-6G was conceived in the early 1930's as a Basic Combat aircraft, the main user prior to WW2 was the RAF who received 400 of the 580 aircraft initially produced and operated them as the Harvard I, the remaining aircraft went to the American armed forces as the Texan, it was only later that the aircraft evolved into one of the best known WW2 Allied training aircraft. During WW2 Noorduyn Aviation built 1,500 aircraft under licence for use by allied commonwealth air-forces and navy's, a total of over 15,000 Texan/Harvards were produced, many were heavily updated to extend their service life. After the end of WW2 many Texans and harvards were used in their originally designed combat role by several countries. The RAF used some of it's Harvards in the 1950's against the Mau Mau in Kenya, the aircraft were fitted with machine guns and wing mounted 20lb bombs. France operated the North American T-6G armed with machine guns, bombs and rockets in a counter insurgency role in the Algerian War of Independence in the mid to late 1950's. Portugal used several hundred North American Harvard T-6G in a counter insurgency role during the Portuguese Colonial War between 1961 and 1974. It is of note that the RAF still operates a single one of it's 1945 Harvard IIB aircraft (KF183) at Boscombe Down, the Harvard's low stall speed making it an excellent photographic chase plane for helicopter test flights. | 
